DC for Free: The US Botanic Garden

DC for Free: The US Botanic Garden

By now, you know I hate winter and being cold. It’s hard not to just cozy up indoors, take advantage of the fact my utilities are included in my rent and turn the heat up to 90°F. Unfortunately, the air quality sucks and there is a limit to how much Netflix I can do in one sitting. I needed the joy of the outdoors without the stinging of cold wind on my face. Lo and behold, the United States Botanic Garden comes through.

The Garden is probably one of the best spots to hang out at during the winter. It’s mostly indoor, which means it’s temperature controlled. The air quality is way better than anything your heater is going to chug out. The plants are way more interesting to look at than you might expect. And best of all, it’s FREE! Lord knows everything else in this city is expensive…anyways, the only downside is that is closes at 5pm, so I had to plan my day around going. No big deal, it was totally worth it.

All it needs is a chorus of angels singing when you walk in.

Since this is a style blog, I’d be remiss if I didn’t get a shot of my #ootd. I’m in love with my new Puma sneakers! They’re simple and go with anything, and I love the subtle gold detailing on them. Also, I got to rock the fishnet-under-jeans trend, which I LOVE.

Anyways, the Garden is separated into rooms with different climates/types of plants. I went through the Desert, Mediterranean, Orchids, Medicinal Plants, and the Tropics. For the record, they have even more rooms than that–there is SO much to see here. Even though it’s not yet tourist season, there were a lot of people, so in some of the rooms you feel a bit like you’re on a conveyor belt. It’s not too bad, though, and I got to see and take pictures in every room no matter how small or crowded it was.

Some of the areas have benches for you to relax on. That was what made the Tropics my favorite room to be in–we were lucky enough to snag a bench seat, and then spent the next hour or so just relaxing and talking. They’ve also got a soundtrack of nature playing, so you hear a creek bubbling and birds chirping like you would in the wild. It’s all very zen and was exactly what I needed.

If you’re bored and broke in DC, especially when the weather is gross, this is the place to go. I felt like I’d stepped into a new world and the only reason I left was because I got hungry. I’m going to slowly be keeping track of my DC for Free recommendations through blog posts, so be sure to subscribe via your email below to keep up to date. Also, you can follow me on IG at @styleofagemini to always keep up to date on new posts.